~ The domestic life of AM Lees, Editor

Monthly Archives: February 2014

Apples, sweetened with a watered down jam on the bottom; a sort of scone dough spread with jam, rolled up Swiss-roll fashion and arranged in slices round the top. I used too much jam! Also, it is a bit wonky, but not bad for a first attempt, and everybody says I can make it again.

Also, John thinks it would go well with rhubarb on the bottom and a gingery jam on the top.

Like this:

Specifically, it had to be a boiled egg, and all chopped up. I don’t like hard-boiled eggs; so I mashed up the soft boil egg and added chopped bacon. The only thing this needs extra, is a spreading of tomato ketchup and a cup of coffee on the side.

Like this:

I chose black olives, because I like them best. The instructions said to mix the olives into the cream cheese, but I couldn’t be bothered. I just spread a thick layer of cream cheese (own-brand) and then added a generous layer of chopped-up olives (out of a packet).

Like this:

This sandwich began with Warburtons [sic] soft grained farmhouse, lightly toasted and scraped.
Then I filled it with:
a generous layer of Sharwood’s mango chutney from a squeezy bottle;
some finely chopped spring onion and celery (cucumber would have been good, but we never have cucumber in);
a generous layer of PDO cheddar, grated.
Then I shoved it in the microwave for a minute, to melt the cheese a little.

Delicious! You do need a strong cheese to make it work.

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Last week, I was looking at the new stuff on Facebook, and one of my friends had posted one of those things you often see. This one requested readers to post one word describing their day, and then share Normally, I do the word posting, and don’t share, but this time I did share. I explained ‘the challenge is to write one word that describes your day’.

I had a number of responses: wet, cold, bleurgh, tired, vertigo. This made me a little sorry. I had not realised that so many of my other friends were feeling so down. Naturally, I wanted to make them all feel better, and I said so. But I wondered where all the happy people were.

Then I realized. One of the things we use Facebook (and other things) for is to connect. When we feel blue, we turn to Facebook (which often feels safer than talking to real people sat next to you) and our friends cheer us up. We can say, ‘I’m feeling down’, and our friends will say that they wish they could give us a hug. We can share problems, and our friends will try to help us come up with solutions.

So, even though I spend way too much time on Facebook, I’m glad I do. It helps me to stay connected, and it helps me to be supportive to people I wouldn’t maybe otherwise talk to.

Like this:

I roasted some cherry tomatoes with a little garlic, sprinkled with basil and black pepper, and drizzled with olive oil; when they were done, they squished up nicely into the sandwich.
I chose wild boar sausages at the butcher’s.
I used wholemeal bread, from the baker’s, lightly toasted. The bread was a little small, so I made two sandwiches.

This makes a delicious sandwich, for when a treat is wanted, say on a cold and horrid rainy day.